OHIO: House Republicans delay a controversial bill to freeze the state’s renewable energy and efficiency law, saying they lack the votes to pass it; meanwhile, a coalition of consumer, business and environmental industrial groups proposes a new compromise. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
EPA: The EPA is finalizing a carbon rule for existing power plants, the Department of Energy projects electricity prices will rise in the coming decade, and Ohio lawmakers introduce a bill giving the state greater control over implementation of EPA rules. (Washington Post, Associated Press, Columbus Business First)
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BIOENERGY: A Wisconsin project that uses agricultural waste to dramatically cut energy use at two facilities likely won’t be replicated because of a lack of clarity in state policy. (Midwest Energy News)
ALSO: An Iowa couple sue a biofuel company after corn stover bales stored near their home caught fire. (Des Moines Register)
OIL AND GAS:
• A judge rejects a claim that an 1855 treaty gives a Minnesota tribe say over a proposed pipeline route. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
• North Dakota’s governor warns the oil industry that the state won’t tolerate flaring of natural gas: “those days are over.” (Associated Press)
• Xcel Energy says it wants to tap into North Dakota’s natural gas market. (Fargo Forum)
• A North Dakota researcher says CO2 injection could increase the amount of recoverable oil from the Bakken. (Bismarck Tribune)
UTILITIES: The Department of Homeland Security says an unnamed U.S. utility’s control systems were recently hacked, and a Wisconsin utility will pay $50,000 in a dispute with regulators over whether turbine repairs at a natural gas plant triggered tougher pollution rules. (Reuters, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
POLITICS: A group run by billionaire Tom Steyer plans to make climate change a central campaign issue in seven states, including Michigan and Iowa. (Los Angeles Times)
EFFICIENCY: A report commissioned by state regulators shows a Wisconsin efficiency program has delivered $3.41 in savings for every dollar spent., and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will be in Detroit today to discuss the city’s LED streetlight project. (Wisconsin State Journal, Associated Press)
COAL: An Indiana coal mine will shut down, and environmental groups deliver petitions calling for Missouri’s governor to halt permits for coal ash dumps in floodplains. (Platts, St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
TRANSPORTATION: A bill to increase gasoline taxes advances in Michigan, and an Illinois lawmaker proposes similar legislation. (CBS Detroit, Associated Press)
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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Fiat Chrysler’s CEO explains why he doesn’t want you to buy one of his electric cars, and Airbus plans to introduce an electric two-seater airplane. (Reuters, Puget Sound Business Journal)
COMMENTARY: Is the value-of-solar tariff a “tax”? (The Energy Collective)